The meat for the filling is mixed with a blend of spices — garlic, onion, roasted and peeled California chiles — and then, you have to go light on that cumin.

Castillo, 66, is proud to be a resident of Castroville, where she raised seven children — and now she boasts of 20 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

As the legendary Chicano-funk band War performed their hit "The World is a Ghetto" a block away, Castillo's husband Santiago stood behind the church's string of food booths, grilling meat for steak-and-artichoke tacos.

Santiago Castillo said the church also sold around 1,200 of those over the weekend.

Both dishes were served topped with the church's special artichoke heart salad, a recipe recently passed on to Helen Jacobo by longtime parishioner Margaret Romero.

"She's the one who taught me," Jacobo said.

Jacobo estimated that congregation members on Thursday and Friday prepared around 800 pounds of the salad to top their homemade tamales and fish or steak tacos.

She started to say the salad is made from boiled artichoke hearts, vinegar, hot peppers, parsley flakes and garlic when another volunteer interrupted, saying "Hey, don't give away the secret recipe!"

Jacobo smiled, but added, "Oh, and olive oil."

On Preston Street, a block away from the main stage, a group of danzantes staged an athletic performance of Aztec dances next to a lineup of classic cars on display. Craft booths lined several streets, and a children's play area was packed, as were the streets.

Said to draw around 30,000 people over two days this year, the event also featured performances by the Marshall Tucker Band and Malo.

The festival is presented by the North Monterey County Chamber of Commerce.

On Sunday, despite a fickle day that 180ed from a toasty warmth to a foggy chill, the festival's food lines stayed coiled for blocks.

And as 1,000 or so people applauded War's rendition of their '70s hit "Why Can't We Be Friends?," the lines grew.

Many wanted standard street-fair food — corn dogs, beer, kettle corn and shaved ice — but most were there to try the artichoke muffins, quesadillas, tacos and pizzas.

And of course, tamales smothered in artichoke salad.

"We did very well," Castillo said with a grin at day's end. "We always do."